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Residents, council raise concerns about EZ Fiber and Comcast installations; city says it is monitoring
Summary
Public commenters and councilors raised concerns about fiber‑optic installation practices after media reports about problems in Albuquerque. City staff said Rio Rancho’s experience has differed but that staff are actively tracking restoration and monitoring contractors, and identified Kate Nichols as the point of contact.
Residents urged the governing body to monitor EZ Fiber’s installation work after news reports of problems in Albuquerque, and councilors and city staff described ongoing oversight of both EZ Fiber and Comcast installations in Rio Rancho.
Casey Robinson, during public forum, said he had been present for an earlier presentation by EZ Fiber and noted the company’s pitch sounded "really nice," but added that news from Albuquerque showed serious problems and urged the city to "make sure we're on top of that because we all know what we went through before." Another resident, Stephen Van Horn, thanked councilors for a recent vote and then raised concerns about the city’s Public Infrastructure Advisory Board 2024 annual report, calling it uninformative and saying it did "not say anything notable" about water, roads and drainage.
Councilors and the city manager responded during council comments and in the manager’s closing remarks that the city has been in communication with both EZ Fiber and Comcast. Councilor Culbreth and Councilor Tyler said Rio Rancho’s experience has been different from Albuquerque’s, noting productive collaboration so far and improved restoration by Comcast. Councilor Tyler specifically praised city staff for responding to an incident and for holding contractors accountable.
The city manager said Comcast has "come a long ways" and that the city’s experience with EZ Fiber has been largely different from Albuquerque’s problems, while acknowledging mistakes do happen. The manager identified Kate Nichols as the principal staff contact for residents and said the city maintains a tracking spreadsheet to monitor restoration and closure dates and that multiple staff members are assigned to the work.
No formal action was required on these comments; staff said residents should contact the city manager’s and mayor’s offices for assistance and that the city will continue to monitor contractor performance and restoration work.
